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Goodness, bravery will stop this evil

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 5:01pmadmin

By:

Richard Johnson DCI MANAGING EDITOR

"I'm sorta glad that them people got hit and I'm glad that girl died. They were a bunch of Communists out there protesting against somebody's freedom of speech, so it doesn't bother me that they got hurt at all."

- Justin Moore, Grand Dragon of the Loyal White Knights of Ku Klux Klan, to WBTV in Charlotte, N.C., following violence which led to the death of protester Heather Heyer on Aug. 12 during a “United the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va.

“Heather Heyer was a fat, disgusting Communist. Communists have killed 94 million. Looks like it was payback time.”

- From a tweet by Jason Kessler, a white supremacist who organized the rally in Charlottesville. He later blamed the rant on a mixture of alcohol and prescription drugs.

It’s virtually impossible to eradicate cancer, and a horrible case popped up in this scenic mountain city of about 46,500 souls. Americans saw an unbelievable free-for-all of hatred, bigotry and violence.

It was denounced – sort of – by our president. And it’s being soundly denounced nationwide by good people who say there’s no place for this type of cancer.

Fifteen Kasson-Mantorville- area clergy signed a letter to the editor which appears on this page.

Compare their words to the hot, angry diatribes above:

“We agree and declare that every single person is made in the image of God, and thus is endowed with inestimable value and dignity. Human beings, in all our diversity, are nevertheless universally sons of Adam and daughters of Eve.”

“We are one family, and should treat each other as such. Moreover, the Gospel of Jesus Christ o ers hope to people of every nation, tribe, language, and race without distinction. Jesus taught us, as the greatest commandment, to love the God who made all humanity and to love our neighbors as ourselves.”

“In this hour, we speciffcally name and condemn white supremacy as a vile, sinful ideology. We urge those who have embraced it to turn aside from this path.”

“We invite all people, regardless of belief, to join us in pursing a better way to live together. May we treat each other with dignity and respect. May we love one another, as Jesus taught us.”

Being kind and respectful, accepting each others’ differences, no matter our religion or the color of our skin, is something most of us learned during our formative years. Humanity is a beautiful melting pot.

You’d think we all would have learned from the extreme hatred and fearmongering that tore us apart during the Civil War, and tore the world apart during two world wars.

Alas, that malignant cancer survived. The militants plan to keep up their fight.

Now we must follow the lead of these good folks, to act as peacemakers and role models, and speak out in droves, scary as that is, to drive this evil back under the rock it sprang from.

We can and will win this fight, however nasty it gets.

Take comfort in the words of one of the ultimate peacemakers, Mahatma Gandhi:

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it - always.”

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